In the past, when the ink contained in an ink ribbon set in an ink ribbon cassette, e.g., for a dot printer has consumed, the cassette has usually been discarded. However, it is wasteful to discard such an ink ribbon cassette as a whole because its casing and ribbon tape themselves can stand long use.
For this reason, the various kinds of ink ribbon regenerating devices have been provided and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Utility Model applications Nos. 55-33715/1980, 57-16364/1982, 62-15957/1987 and 62-180545/1987.
The device disclosed in the above application No. 55-33715/1980 includes a base, a first reel for winding an ink ribbon to be regenerated, a first shaft disposed on the base for rotatably supporting the first reel, a second reel for winding the ink ribbon which has been regenerated, a second shaft driven to rotate and supporting the second reel, a driving means for driving the second shaft to rotate, an ink pad disposed between the first and second reels for transferring ink onto the ink ribbon being moved from the first reel to the second reel, and an ink feeder for supplying ink to the ink pad. The device is used for regenerating an ink ribbon wound in a reel which is directly set in a dot printer. However, in such a device, it takes time before a sufficient amount of ink is transferred from the ink feeder to the ink pad connected to the feeder, and also it is not easy to adjust the amount of ink in the ink pad in a suitable range.
The device disclosed in the above application No. 57-1634/1982 includes a supporting member for rotatably supporting a first spool for winding an ink ribbon to be regenerated, a supporting and winding means for supporting a second spool for winding the regenerated ink ribbon and for forcedly rotating the second spool, a roller unit provided between the supporting member and the supporting and winding means and having a plurality of rollers which are overlapped to contact with each other through their dead loads, a press roller disposed to be overlapped with the upper one of said plurality of rollers for pressing on the upper roller the ink ribbon being moved under tension between the supporting member and the supporting and winding means, and an ink reservoir for supplying ink to the lower one of said plurality of rollers. However, in such a device, when the ink ribbon to be regenerated has been in a cassette, it is necessary for the operation thereof to draw said ribbon out of the cassette and rewind said ribbon around the fist spool, and also in a case where the ribbon is of the endless type, the ribbon can not be regenerated over its total length.
The device disclosed in the above application No. 62-15957/1987 includes a rotary shaft projected out of the front surface of a casing and rotated by a motor in the casing through a reduction gear mechanism, a guide pin disposed on the front surface of the casing and capable of being removably inserted into a cartridge ribbon case to thereby fix the ribbon case on the front surface when the ribbon case is operatively engaged with the rotary shaft through a hole of the ribbon case for receiving the rotary shaft, a ribbon guiding means disposed on the front surface between the guide pin and the rotary shaft for slidably guiding the ribbon, and an ink feeder for supplying ink to the ribbon guiding means. However, in such a device, it is not easy to suitably control the amount of ink to be transferred onto the ribbon and the time necessary for distributing ink on the ribbon and also to suitably set the ribbon case on the device.
The device disclosed in the above application No. 62-15987/1987 includes a vertical base plate movable up and down and urged upward by a spring, a cassette mounting member disposed on the base plate for holding on the base plate a ribbon cassette having an ink ribbon wound by a pair of spools arranged in the cassette and exposed out of the cassette between the pair of spools, a ribbon winding mechanism for driving one of the spools to rotate to thereby draw out the used ink ribbon wound around the other spool and wind the regenerated ribbon around said one of the spools, an inking roller provided below the lower end of the base plate for distributing ink on the used ribbon, and a press roller disposed on the lower end of the base plate to abut the back side of the used ribbon which is out of the cassette for forcedly contacting the used ribbon with the inking roller when the base plate is moved down and locked in position. However, in such a device, it is necessary for the operation thereof to move the base plate downward by hand and lock the base plate on a frame for slidably supporting the plate. Also, the device is restricted to be used only for a special ribbon cassette which can be fittingly interposed between the upper and lower supporting pieces, fixed on the base plate, of the cassette mounting member and operatively engaged with the ribbon winding mechanism.